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Carthaginians/Strategic Overview
160px|right Strengths *Powerful militaristic faction, replete with fast-training mercenaries and hard-hitting elite units. Weaknesses *No proper economic bonuses *Fairly underpowered units *Lacks advanced link=upgrades#Religion Religion upgrades for cities. *Highly dependent on link=wealth Wealth. As a faction, the Carthaginian faction is one which can grow by leaps and bounds with regard to using a mixed strategy to establish its hegemony. Its main advantages lie in its more effective Scouts, which are faster and can despatch spies quicker, as well as its ability to amass naval superiority in the early game, resources willing. With the ability to scout the entire map out, or to gather more resources from ruins, the Carthaginians should find it not difficult to create a more efficient town faster than others — complete exploration of the map and more resources that can be ploughed into construction means more efficient city building and coherent expansion strategy, which then means a fast track to a more powerful military that can rival many of the major factions like the Romans or the other Greek nations. Being capable of viewing the map and gathering resources from ruins can be a powerful means to start the game. Not only are Ruins plentiful at the early start, but they are also within full view of the Carthaginian player who can make use of this edge in information warfare for better planning of demographic expansion (and possibly acquisition, later on) to encompass key strategic areas. It is true that the Sarmatians have an advantage in expansion, and the Nabataeans also have a strong intelligence gathering bias (owing to their ability to see rare resources) but the Carthaginian are able to fully use that ability to properly coordinate their construction projects within their available national borders to encompass areas of crucial importance such as defensible positions, rare resources and/or Timber and Metal-gathering areas owing to their having the entire map revealed to them. Thereafter comes the issue of Ruins. On paper, Ruins don't give much but they are very helpful, especially in the early start of the game when you are still scraping the barrel to construct a new building. However, this is where one of the Carthaginian civilisation's quirks comes into play: for the Carthaginian this amount increases EXPONENTIALLY with each level of Science research, from a humble +36 all the way to a whopping +192 at Level 7. Being capable of finding these Ruins and acquiring more resources out of them can mean the difference between a successful boom/rush strategy and being overwhelmed by an enemy's numerical or economic superiority. Thus, this bonus shouldn't be overlooked where possible especially since Science (a very heavily overlooked area by most players of RoN) can be quite powerful since it increases the amount of resources that you'd normally harvest per Ruin patch. In conclusion, pushing for the Science track can be very profitable for Carthaginian, by increasing the amount of resources possible for research whilst lowering the resource costs for ALL other areas of research, particularly Military. In the Ancient Era when Metal cannot be gathered, this can be a very powerful national bonus indeed. For the Carthaginian faction, its use of information warfare and sea power is key to remain a going concern. Docks will spawn heavy warships, population cap willing. Apart from its unique units, Carthage's better explorers which can elicit more resources from ruins can be a potential early game saver but beyond that, it still remains weak. The Carthaginian military force is fairly diversefied, and its main military perks lie in three areas: its superb warriors and cavalry, and its vast number of mercenaries, including Libyan War Elephants. Carthage's best units sacrifice attack strength and economic availability for stronger armour and faster training times, so they can make for very powerful warriors on land, if they are properly supported. Even so, most of Carthage's best units are the costliest and easily countered, and which have to be supplemented with obscene amounts of wealth by the use of mercenaries, meaning that Carthage is a Wealth-heavy faction that needs to max out its Wealth production by any cost. Trade, taxation rare resources and fishing are all issues that must be considered by the Carthaginian player but then the use of Carthage's unique ability to unveil the map means that obtaining Wealth is not an issue. Always prioritise the acquisition of Wealth-producing rare resources, or those that reduce the cost of units and structures. Amber, Furs, and Dyes are useful, as are Copper and Silver; Relics and Wool less so. Lack of proper Healthcare research means that Carthaginian units will not heal as quicky as they should, but given the "meat-grinder" mechanics of Rise of Nations, why do you need it anyway? most units usually don't survive long enough to merit healing, and most Carthaginian units are fast-training on their own, so you're not at a disadvantage. Use your heavy pike units as an "anvil" which can concentrate enemy forces for attack in Macedonian style, with the infantry forming a centre of gravity meant to draw in the enemy, who can then be whittled down by cavalry attacks from the flanks. Allies-wise, any faction that has an early-game advantage, or a resource advantage is always good so most of the Greek factions (particularly the Macedonians) or the Celtiberian factions are natural allies of Carthage. The trick to surviving as Carthage thus is to combine military might with coordinated territorial expansion with your allies. Unless you are playing on a map that prioritises defence (ie Himalayas, Ardennes Forest) or marine expansion, however, Carthage isn't likely to survive the first half-hour of gameplay unless there is a Peacetime period. This is also made far more challenging on the basis of Carthage's highly watered down Religion upgrade tree, meaning that Carthaginian cities aren't as effective as they are be it on a tactical or strategic level. A Carthage that is unable to amass the resources required to recruit its "best" units is eesentially a lost cause. Use your heavy pike units as an "anvil" which can concentrate enemy forces for attack in Alexandrine style, with the infantry forming a centre of gravity meant to draw in the enemy, who can then be whittled down by cavalry attacks from the flanks. Use the terrain to your advantage, with your Punic units being used to hold chokepoints thanks to their good armour, and then use the unique abilities of your mercenaries as your main striking force. Allies-wise, any faction that has an early-game advantage, or a resource advantage is always good so most of the Greek factions (particularly the Macedonians) or the Celtiberian factions are natural allies of Carthage. The trick to surviving as Carthage thus is to combine military might with coordinated territorial expansion with your allies. Unless you are playing on a map that prioritises defence (ie Himalayas, Ardennes Forest) or marine expansion, however, Carthage isn't likely to survive the first half-hour of gameplay unless there is a Peacetime period. This is also made far more challenging on the basis of Carthage's highly watered down Religion upgrade tree, meaning that Carthaginian cities aren't as effective as they are be it on a tactical or strategic level. Category:Carthaginians